Walking along today in the crisp winter sunshine I was struck by how beautiful the frost looked on the ground. Just plain old frost. You see it in white patches, smeared across the ground like winter’s warning, and you’re wary of slipping on it … but today it was such a lovely day and so it was thawing quickly … the sky was azure blue, the trees still and everything just felt amazingly calm and peaceful, so I was already a bit loved up with Mother Nature.

But what took my breath away was looking down to see a spread of frost on the ground which had part thawed and literally just looked like someone had sprinkled glitter right across the pavement. Sparkling, iridescent, gorgeous glitter. I stopped and stared in wonder. So beautiful …

I used to go through life rush rush rushing, too much to do, failing at too many things, stress stress stressing. How I love these days, these times when I actually notice the world around me and can appreciate the beauty which, before now, I was too self-absorbed to see.

May you stay warm and safe this winter, and hopefully have time to stop and appreciate the simple gifts on offer in your surroundings.